For over 40 years I've played in the dirt. I love it! I started my Garden Center Business in High School and still love watching plants grow. As time goes on though, our bodies wear out and you have to start working smarter and cut back on the physical. Then the economy tanked. Flowers were a luxury folks really cut back on. Still wanting to grow my plants because that's all I've ever done, I needed extra income in my budget for my fall travel plans. The plant business is very seasonal and that allows time for me to roam around the country in my motorhome. Over the years on vacation I've always made a few of the corn shuck dolls to have a little mad money for extras..

I learned to make the dolls when I was about 12 years old in Girl Scouts. For extra income I started to wholesale my dolls and picked up 5 accounts the first year. This paid for about 2 weeks of motorhome gas and a nice little trip. Then I was invited to demonstrate Corn Shuck Doll making at a large Museum and had a booth to retail my dolls. Without the wholesale price constraints I started making more detailed and elaborate dolls to sell in my booth. My Art blossomed!

The next milestone in my Corn Shuck Career was when a friend encouraged me to stand for Jury in the Southern Highlands Craft Guild. The oldest Craft Guild in the nation. With the Guild's strict quality standards artists try for years to gain acceptance. I passed the rigorous jury in Jan. 2014.

My new Etsy Shop and Web Page are the next progression in my art business. I got 5 weeks vacation this year! Hopefully when my body can no longer tend to my greenhouse business, I will have the extra income from my Corn Shuck Dolls business to carry me into retirement as I travel about the country.
Love what you do! Do what you love and be happy!